[b]Halcyon Cascade![/b] By all accounts, you should be feeling nervous, given that Ourania herself is attending this coronation. But you don't. Maybe it's because you've always known today was coming; or, to be more truthful, you've always hoped today was coming. When Oberon was leering at you and demanding your submission, you honestly didn't [i]know[/i] that your little Lina would rise to the occasion, but you hoped with all of your heart. And the power of a princess's heart is incredible, even when that princess has grown up and become a queen and taken responsibility. She's incredible. Twice the princess you were at her age (though you could still teach her a thing or two about stealing the Crown Jewels). When she enters the room to the sound of glass flutes and strings and the great glass organ, flanked by Jess and her darling Rita, there's a murmur of delight that runs through the crowd. Rita accompanies her down to her seat at the front, then scoots in next to Adila (who looks so handsome, for all that she fought Oberon Greymane to a standstill). Jess, now Captain of the Royal Guard, takes her position between you and the audience, a ceremonial guard just in case anyone decided to try to launch an attack to take you or Lina prisoner (which has happened before, thus the precautions). The words come naturally: important, dignified words, ones that shine like glass. On your right, the crown; on your left, the pitcher, with lucky raindrops falling into the water. This really is the perfect day for a coronation. You lift the crown of Ilumina in your hands, which (thank Ourania) are steady today; you place it on your daughter's head, and blink back tears which mingle with the rain. "I pass this honor onto you, Princess-Promised. Ilumina is in your hands; cherish it, safeguard it, lead with grace and lead with love." Her lights swirl around her as her Seneschal, Free, opens the box holding them. There is an awed gasp from the crowd as the three lights swirl and find their places in the crown. Some people would wonder aloud why she only has three; you are proud of her, knowing why she does not have seven. You take the pitcher in your hands and pour out the fountain's water over the head of the new queen, and as you do, because today is a very special day, a rainbow arcs across the sky. The water pours out, just like it did over your head all those years ago, and you can hear the queen sniffling and laughing in that way you remember, too. "I'm so proud of you," you whisper, just for her, as the last trickle splashes on her head. *** [b]Queen Alina Cascade![/b] All of the congratulations are a whirlwind. The afterparty, of course, is a festival for all of Ilumina, but it is the queens and princesses who stay close by you, even as your subjects flit in and out as they dare. Jess keeps a careful eye on everyone who approaches you; it's tradition that the first kidnapping of the new queen is lucky. You are almost certain that she has been suborned by Rita, though. Thank goodness. That means you won't have to order her to go get you a glass of punch when you see Rita give you the signal. You [i]will[/i] have your first queenly kidnapping at the hands of the Askaian princess, so help you! But now, you find yourself face to face with your best friends. Adila, strong and loyal and beautiful; Kazelia, dapper and clever and joyful. For a moment, a special moment, it's just the three of you; everyone else is distracted by the smoke bomb going off around Ourania over by the refreshments. The rain lingers on your lashes, Diamond hums a joyful song, and the world, for a moment, turns around the three of you instead of around Argossa. The love you share is the axis of all Hyperborea, right here, right now. What do you say to each other?